The announcement by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy(R-CA) that he will not be running for Speaker of the House has left GOP lawmakers scrambling to find a successor for current Speaker John Boehner(R-OH).
In recent days one of the names that is increasingly being floated is that of Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). In an interview, last week, Congressman Steven Palazzo(R-MS) encouraged Blackburn to run for the position.
“From her strong pro-life stance to her fight to protect our Second Amendment right to bear arms, Congressman Blackburn is a proven conservative fighter,” Palazzo wrote.
Palazzo also cited Blackburn's strong stance on immigration, pointing out that she has sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at allowing law enforcement officials to deport illegal immigrants.
Blackburn said she was honored that some of her colleagues believe she would be a good fit for the job and did not rule out the possibility of running. In a statement following Palazzos comments, Blackburn's spokesperson mentioned that others have been encouraging Blackburn to run.
“Marsha has heard from a lot of people encouraging her to run,” said Blackburn’s spokesman, Mike Reynard. “Right now she is listening and having conversations with her colleagues about the best way to unite the conference moving forward.”
However, Blackburn, herself has said that seeking the Speakership is "Not on her to-do list."
“What you have to do is have someone who’s going to bring everybody and say, for the good of the country, for the good of freedom, free people, free markets, we have to be able to work through these issues,” Blackburn said. “And what the American people are wanting to see is a leader who’s going to be a constitutional conservative, and they’ve been pretty clear about that. So our big tent party needs to stand up and get the job done.”
Blackburn has an 83% conservative rating on the Heritage Action Scorecard and a 72% conservative rating on the Conservative Review scorecard
Increased speculation concerning Blackburn follows an effort to draft Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to run for the job. Ryan has repeatedly said that he's not interested and many conservatives have questioned his dedication to conservative principles.
Blackburn has been a member of Congress since 2003.